A Birthday to Remember
by Llamalicious Twi-Hards
Summary: A one shot suspense story. Bella's boyfriend, Edward, died mysteriously exactly one year from her birthday. What was the real story behind Edward's disappearence? Will his past come back to haunt her? ExB R&R please.


**Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. Stephenie Meyer does and I love her for creating these characters and her story that goes along with them.**

Shivers went down my spine as a frigid wintry breeze blew pass me. It was about six o'clock at night and it was already dark out due to Forks usual climate. I was just walking home from school after an afterschool meeting with my guidance counselor; she wanted to talk to me about today's ghostly anniversary that I've been dreading for months now. I had no choice in the matter though, so I had to face her sooner or later. I would have preferred later.

The wind blew again but it carried an eerie sound in its wake. I thought I heard my name. "Bella… Bella… Bella…" I heard again and again. My heart started to pound rapidly and I picked up my pace, afraid to look back, but I still had a block left before I got to my house. The hairs on the back of my neck sprung up as unusual hot air grazed my neck. _Why did my truck have to die today?_ I went into a full on sprint. _Almost there. Almost there! _I kept thinking repeatedly to myself. My legs felt heavy, my lungs and throat were dry from the cold air and it made me gasp. Then something grabbed me and twisted its arms roughly around my body. I couldn't move, its arms were so strong, I felt my ribs being crushed and it hurt to breathe. I felt the icy breath on my neck again and then there was a sharp, shearing pain and a burning sensation moved throughout my constricted body. Darkness overwhelmed me until everything went black.

"AHHH!" I screamed, gasping for air, hot tears running down my face. I got up so fast, my head spun. _It was only a dream,Bella._ I kept telling myself over and over again. I turned to my alarm clock and was startled by what I saw. September 13, my heart sunk to the very pit of my being as the memories flooded back into my mind. A year ago today, my boyfriend and first love, Edward, had mysteriously died. I remembered talking to him on the phone before the accident.

"This will be a birthday you'll never forget. " Edward said.

His words were crystal clear as if he was saying them at this moment. I remembered the hours of crying after Renee told me what had happened. The police, including Charlie, had found his car off the road, the seats stained crimson with his blood. He was heading to my house at the time and they predicted that he drove off the road and flew out of the car. The search for his body went on for months, but he was never found. My vision blurred as I came out of my reverie wishing for this day to be over. Ever since then, I carried a sense of guilt believing that it was my fault for what had happened. The school counselor has always told me I had no control over the matter, but that feeling has never left me in peace.

I got out of bed, changed, and went down stairs to get something to eat. Renee was out of town on a business trip with Phil, but was due to come home tonight for my birthday, so it was just me and my little brother. I turned around to get the cereal and a bowl out of the cabinet when I felt a pricking on the back of my neck. I swore I jumped 10 feet in the air, screaming my head off. I jerked around and there was my little brother, Jacob, looking at me like I was insane.

"Did you wake up on the wrong side of the cage or what?" he said sarcastically moving around me to get a bowl. "Mom said Ms. Clearwater is taking me to school today and I'm staying over Sam's tonight."

"Um, ok. Make sure you lock up before you leave." I looked at the clock and realized I only had twenty minutes to get to school, so I dropped everything that I was about to do, said bye to Jake, gathered my things, and started to run out the door.

That's when I heard Jake say, "Happy Birthday Bella" which made my stomach clench at the thought.

The day seemed to take an eternity to end. People I didn't even know had come up to me and acted all nice and sympathetic and apologized for today's chilling anniversary and wished me happy birthday, but that seemed to do nothing but cause me more pain. I had to keep my composure up, so I wouldn't break down crying and embarrass myself. I just wanted to forget everything. After school, I had that visit with the guidance counselor and walked home and hating the fact that my truck died. On the way, I felt a strange sense of déjà vu and remembered my dream and ran home as fast as I could.

I stopped at the door finally, breathing hard and found that the door was unlocked. _Jacob, I told you to lock up before I left_. I went in and drop my bag off by the door and locked it. I went straight up to my room more relaxed that I didn't find anyone chasing me. I looked in to mirror to see my sleep deprived face. I saw my alarm clock out of the corner of my eye and turned to see what time it was. I found myself screaming bloody murder. "Edward," I whispered so softly, barely audible. He stood inches from my face. He had a pallor to his skin and dark rings around his eyes. His eyes were a bright red and looked at me formidably. His face was emotionless.

"I have to warn you about something." He spoke quickly in a quiet whisper. "That night, I was murdered… but not in the obvious sense. I'm now basically the damned and I've done indescribable things that I had no control over," Pain filled his scarlet eyes. "I would have come back for you sooner but I was afraid for you and what I might have done if I couldn't control myself. I'm only here because I have to warn you that you're in danger. The thing that turned me that night into this...this...monster, is after you. I don't know why, but I think it may be my fault. You need to get out of here as fast as possible." he said. I could see fear in his eyes.

"What are you talking about? How are you alive? What attacked you?" I reached out to touch him and he turned away so quickly it made me jump. "What happened to you…?" I felt hot tears of joy, pain, and fear filled my vision and I blinked hard to not let them spill.

"A vampire attacked me, but he turned me. He's been hunting me ever since to finish the job. He's been watching you too, that's why I had to come to warn you, but I have to leave now. I'm sorry. Happy birthday… I love you." He took a few steps and hesitated and turned back to look at me. Before I knew it, his hands cupped me face and he was kissing me hard. It seemed to end as soon as it began and when I opened my eyes, he was gone. I wanted nothing more than to curl up in a ball and just stay there and cry my eyes out, but my body was so tense that it wouldn't budge.

Minutes later my window shattered and shards of glass flew in every direction. My hands flew to my face reflexively to shield myself. That's when saw him. I knew who he was when I first looked up at his face. He was the man who attacked me in my dream. I could feel it. I was frozen in fear and he began casually circling me. His eyes looked me up and down and he had a wicked grin planted on his somehow gorgous face and his teeth glistened slightly in the dim light. I couldn't do anything but look back and feel my body tense even more and the adrenaline start to flow.

"Hello Bella. I'm so glad to finally meet you," he said in a surprisingly soothing voice that sounded as sweet as a lullaby. "Sorry about your boyfriend and all. Edward was it? You don't have to worry about him anymore. I met up with him again outside. It's been a while. Too bad, he would have been a spectacular predator. If only you had seen his strength and power. It's a shame how ignorance causes heads to roll." He gave me an innocent smile, which looked all wrong with the evil gleam he had in his burgundy eyes. My mind clouded causing me not to be able to think straight and my lids were getting heavy. I felt him caressing my shoulders making me even drowsier. I could feel that same icy breath that I felt in my dream on my bare neck and then his lips. I felt the same stab and burning pain. Thick liquid began dripping down my throat.

"_I'm dreaming! WAKE UP!" _I kept repeating the mantra in my head as my mind started fading into darkness. Then everything went black.

"WAKE UP!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. I ran to my mirror and frantically ran my hands all over my neck examining for the bite mark. I started pinching myself all over to see if I was still dreaming. "Ouch. Ouch. OUCH!" I knew I was awake for sure now and I sighed in relieve. I ran down the stairs and saw Renee at the kitchen table. "Oh my god, mom! You will never believe the dream I just had." I walked closer and then had a feeling that something was horribly wrong and my stomach started to automatically twisted in fear. When she turned her face to look at me, I could tell by her eyes she'd been crying for awhile. I started to panic. "Mom what's the matter with you? What's wrong?" She was now crying hysterically and told me in between sobs to read the newspaper. I grabbed it off the table and read the headline. _THE BODY OF EDWARD MASEN FOUND A YEAR LATER_. Tears welled in my eyes as I read through my blurred vision. A neighbor down the street had called the cops about strange noises coming from outside last night. The police found Edward's mangled headless body a few yards into the woods, but there was no evidence explaining how it happen or how his body got there. His head was missing too. I looked at the top left corner and saw the date. September 14th 2008. Before I knew it, my legs collapsed from under me and my mind was engulfed in darkness. The last thing I felt was the cold tile under me and my mom's trembling hands on my face. Appearing in the darkness of my mind was Edward's bodiless head staring at me with a huge, frightening grin on his beautiful face. There are some things that words cannot express and I knew I would never find the words to express this feeling right now.


End file.
